Tuesday, May 10, 2011

WaPo Poll: Obama gets bounce, Romney comes closest in Virginia

The targeted killing of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden boosted President Obama’s prospects for reelection over several potential Republican challengers in the battleground state of Virginia, according to a Washington Post poll.

The poll provides a view of the impact of bin Laden’s death in a state widely viewed as a bellwether for Obama’s chances for reelection nationally. The interviews were already underway when Obama delivered the news late in the evening of May 1; 677 were conducted before the announcement, with 503 afterward.

Head-To-Head: [poll coducted 4/28-5/1 before Bon Laden's death was announced]

Barack Obama 51[48]
Mitt Romney 44[46] (-7)

Barack Obama 53[50]
Mike Huckabee 44[46] (-9)

Barack Obama 55[51]
Tim Pawlenty 35[38] (-20)

Barack Obama 61[54]
Donald Trump 30[35] (-31)

Barack Obama 61[55]
Sara Palin 30[36] (-31)

The poll was conducted April 28 to May 4. Interviews were conducted on conventional and cellular telephones. The results from the full poll of 1,180 adults have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The interviews were already underway when Obama delivered the news late in the evening of May 1; 677 were conducted before the announcement, with 503 afterward.